The present invention relates to an electronic part installation apparatus used in assembling or installing electronic parts, and method thereof.
When electronic parts, such as IC chips and so on, are assembled together or installed on a printed board, if an electronic part is not held by an installation head of an assembly device in correct posture and position, the electronic part can not be positioned correctly on the printed board when it is installed. Thus, the printed board with the electronic part will become a malfunctioning or false product.
Therefore, whenever an electronic part is absorbed or sucked by an installation head, the electronic part is inspected by a confirmation or checking camera and so on before it is installed. If data obtained through the confirmation camera are different from the data inputted already in a computer, e.g. holding position of the part by the installation head is wrong, the installation head is actuated to move the electronic part to adjust the position to thereby satisfy the requirement. For example, these techniques are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications (KOKAI) No. 5-37191 and No. 5-299890.
In the former technique, an electronic part received by a head from a part supply section is recognized or confirmed by a part confirmation camera attached to a main body through a shaft and situated near the part supply device. When used, the camera is moved to a position between a part receiving position and a part installing position, and the head holding the electronic part stops in one position to be recognized by the camera. Thereafter, when the part is installed, the head is moved to adjust the position.
Therefore, the head must be stopped in front of the part confirmation camera, wait for a time that the camera operates, and move to an assembly section. Since these operations are repeated for each installation, there requires a huge time where the electronic parts are not actually installed. In this field, mass processing and high speed installation are required, but the conventional technique can not satisfy the demands.
In the later technique, the confirmation camera is attached to the head, but a mirror box having a mirror therein must be laterally moved alternately between the camera and a part illuminating section for obtaining an light image of the part. In addition, the head must be moved up and down according to the movement of the mirror box.
Accordingly, the structure and movement of the camera and installation device are complicated, and fast and smooth operation to recognize the part can not be made. Thus, it does not contribute to the productivity of the parts assembly.
Also, the apparatus becomes huge, and in a head section, since parts are frequently moved in two directions, e.g. X and Y directions, a plurality of installation heads can not be formed in one head section. Therefore, it is difficult to improve an operation efficiency and installation ability of the parts.
The conventional apparatus has the above problems.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the invention is to provide an adjustment device for an electronic part installation apparatus and a method of installing electronic parts, in which installation time of the electronic parts can be minimized.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustment device for an electronic part installation apparatus and a method of installing electronic parts, in which the electronic parts can be recognized while the electronic parts are being installed by an assembly device.
A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustment device for an electronic part installation apparatus and a method of installing electronic parts, in which a position of the electronic part can be adjusted while the part is being installed.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.